Area woman terrified' after swastikas found painted on driveway

Staff Photo By Vinny Tennis
Two swastikas were painted on the driveway on Eagles Farm Road in West Pikeland late last week. Outbuildings on the property were gone through and a weed wacker believed to be stolen was found on the property Thursday by Daily Local reporters.

WEST PIKELAND — A 75-year-old Jewish woman is looking for help from law enforcement officials after someone entered her property and painted two swastikas on her driveway.

Laura Soto, who lives alone on a large property on Eagle Farms Road, contacted police after her caretaker discovered the discriminatory symbols on Sept. 29. A barn was also broken into and other outbuildings were rummaged through. Only a weedwhacker was stolen, Soto said.

Soto said the incident left her frightened and looking for support from the West Pikeland Police Department. She called the department after the incident and asked them to conduct an investigation. She spoke an officer over the phone, she said, and felt confident that her police department would do everything they could to help her.

When she called several days later to check on the investigation’s progress Soto heard the last thing she expected from her police department.

“I was told they are not doing an investigation,” Soto said. “I was told there was nothing to investigate.”

Soto said there was a similar incident several years ago in a neighborhood just across the street. A swastika was painted on a driveway, and, in the days that followed that incident, West Pikeland police officers canvassed the neighborhood to knock on doors in search of witnesses. Eventually, a pair of teenagers responsible for the incident was found, largely due to the efforts of police officers.

Soto wondered why the police could not conduct a similar investigation this time around.

“It doesn’t make sense to me that if there is a swastika painted on your driveway there is nothing to investigate. That doesn’t make sense to me,” Soto said. “You need to be out knocking on doors and talking to neighbors. I think they should do something.”

A Daily Local News reporter and a photographer obtained Soto’s permission to enter the property Thursday to examine and photograph the painted swastikas. Within minutes of entering the property, the pair located the missing weedwhacker, which had been removed from the barn and discarded along the driveway about 30 yards from the driveway gate.

When contacted Thursday, West Pikeland Police Chief Shane Clark said he would not comment on an ongoing investigation. When asked if Soto had been told that there was no investigation, Clark said that he had spoken to her just minutes before and assured the police department would investigate the incident.

When asked about that conversation, Soto said Clark informed her that the investigating officer originally said that he had exhausted all of his sources. Soto said the only person she knew of that was interviewed was her caretaker who discovered the swastikas. Soto was hopeful that the police department would do what they could to look into the incident.

“He (Clark) said all the right things, we’ll see what happens,” Soto said.